Tag Archives: entomophagy

Why not put something super nutritious, sustainable, and oh-so-tasty on your grilling skewer this summer? Oh, did I mention it’s a little leggy? We are talking about cooking delicious insects! Since my last blog concerning entomophagy a couple of years ago, this unique eating experience has become quite popular. Many companies are popping up all over the country bringing new ways to introduce insects into your diet!

Grasshopper Sheesh! Kabobs by David George Gordon

Insects are the new sushi.

As manager of our delicious edible insect vending machine in the Cockrell Butterfly Center, I am constantly searching for new products to add to our inventory. Besides quite a few new companies, there are also several restaurants where finding a grasshopper in your fine cuisine will not result in a health code violation (see the chapulines on Hugo’s dinner menu). You may think it’s crazy, but remember, 50 years ago sushi was considered disgusting to most Americans. Now, there are almost 4,000 sushi restaurants in the US!

Add some legs to your diet.

When I took over the machine several years ago, we sold mainly novelty products (lollipops, etc.) because that was what was available. Now, we are working with new startup companies to introduce more “everyday use” products. I know, I know, most of you are more likely to stomp on a bug rather than chomp on a bug, but the times, they are a-changing!

One of these companies that makes bug “staples” isExo. They make protein bars from cricket flour (milled crickets). Their Web site puts it perfectly: “CRICKETS ARE THE NEW KALE. Paleo and environmentally-friendly protein bars.” They are soy, dairy, grain and gluten-free for all of you “clean eaters” out there. I bet you never thought “clean” meant insects, huh?

Sprinkle some of this Hopper Crunch cricket flour granola on yogurt with some fruit to make a bug parfait.

Another company, Hopper Foods, based in Austin, Texas, has the mission, “to normalize entomophagy (eating insects) by creating delicious, nutritious and healthy products that people will want to eat every day.” Hopper has brought delicious, crunchy, cricket granola and no, you won’t get a leg stuck in your teeth!

Six Foods has created the next best thing to chips, Chirps (ha! Get it?). Yup, chips made from cricket flour along with “wholesome beans, corn, peas, and chia seeds” (from website). In delicious flavors such as BBQ and Cheddar, where could you go wrong?! Oh, and they have the best slogan: Eat what bugs you. All the taste with 3x the protein and 40% less fat. YES!

Bitty Foodsmakes cookies with yes, again, cricket flour—are you sensing a trend yet? They are delicious, nutritious, and did I mention delicious? The secret to their recipes? They “start with sustainably raised crickets, which are slow roasted to bring out their nutty, toasted flavor.”

Cricket Flours is not only a great place to get flour for your recipes, but they also specialize in protein powders. Also, if you are looking for a new set of recipes, you should buy their e-book to get some ideas for your next dinner party. Look for their single-serve protein packets in our vending machine this summer!

Countries that consume insects and arthropods as a food source.

All the cool kids are doing it!

Like everyone is eating insects, like 2 billion people; kind of everyone. That’s not just very many, that’s A LOT! So if you’ve never eaten a bug, get out and try a bite. Heck, you might like ’em!

Three Bee Salad by David George Gordon

For more bug recipes, check out these resources:

Girl Meets Bug – On this blog, learn how to make Bee-LT Sandwiches, Deep Fried Scorpion, Waxworm Tacos, and more.

Eat-a-Bug Cookbook – Read here about David George Gordon’s latest edition of his entomophagy cookbook and take away some recipes like Three Bee Salad and Grasshopper Sheesh! Kabobs. Purchase the book on Amazon.

“Entomophagy” originates from the Greek word “entomon” (insect) and “phagein” (to eat). Yes, entomophagy is the consumption of delicious, nutritious insects (and often other buggy friends). Insects are at the bottom of the food chain, and are eaten by many animals, but the term “entomophagy” is directed at the human consumption of insects. Other animals that feed on insects and insect relatives are commonly known as insectivores.

Did you know the Cockrell Butterfly Center has a vending machine filled with all sorts of edible insect goodies? We have even added some new products, one of which comes from a great company called Chapul. Many of our products are novelty style, but Chapul protein bars are the real thing! These bars, from personal experience, are quite tasty. My favorite is the Aztec Bar, which is flavored with chocolate, coffee, and a hint of cayenne for some added heat. Oh, and don’t forget the cricket flour which gives them their unique texture and source of protein!

Now, I heard you say “Gross!” at the beginning of this blog. But is it really fair that many people consider some arthropods (a.k.a. bugs) more edible than others? You probably love to eat shrimp, crab, crawfish, and lobster, but those delicacies are arthropods just like scorpions, spiders, ants, grasshoppers, and any other jointed-leg creature you can think of!

Entomophagy in other cultures

Aside from Europe, Canada, and the United States, entomophagy is commonly practiced throughout most cultures around the world. In fact, over 1,400 species of insects are known to be eaten in 80 percent of the world’s nations! Winged termites are used in many recipes in Ghana during the spring rains and wasp crackers are enjoyed by elders in the highlands of Japan.

In Chinese culture, beekeepers are considered virile because they regularly eat larvae from their beehives. How do de-winged dragonflies boiled in coconut milk with ginger and garlic sound? Mmm-mmmm good! This is a Balinese delicacy. Cicadas, fire-roasted tarantulas, and ants are prevalent in traditional Latin American dishes. One of the most famous culinary insects, the agave worm, is eaten on tortillas and placed in bottles of mezcal liquor in Mexico.

Depending on how brave you are, you can view the list and find that 30 fly eggs or two maggots in your spaghetti sauce is acceptable.

Yummm, and who wants dessert? Chocolate can have an average of 60 or more insect fragments per 100 grams.

But seriously, WHYYYYYYYY?

I can give statistics all day long, but in the end, I know you’re going to ask, “Why even bother?” The United Nations put out a report earlier this year stating that insect consumption could help resolve world hunger. Most of our protein sources are inefficient, and with a population of 7 billion people and growing, the world is running out of room and fresh water. Farming insects for food requires little space or water needed to produce large numbers. This could cut down on water consumption and land needed for agriculture.

Not only is insect production better for the environment, but they are better for us as a protein source. Beef is roughly 18 percent protein and 20 percent fat. Cooked grasshopper, meanwhile, contains up to 50 percent protein with just 3 percent fat. Moreover, like fish, insect fatty acids are unsaturated and thus healthier.

Oh, and contrary to most western belief, most edible insects are quite tasty! Dave Gracer, Advisor for Insects Are Food, gave a great description covering many types of leggy edibles: “Dry-toasted cricket tastes like sunflower seeds; katydid like toasted avocado; palm grub like bacon soup with a chewy, sweet finish. Weaver ant pupae have practically no flavor, while the meat of the giant water bug is, astonishingly, like a salty, fruity, flowery Jolly Rancher.”

Oh, and if you are a wine connoisseur, there are several great blogs and articles about which wines to pair with your creepy cuisine.

Thanks, Lauren! I am going to cook insects ALL the time!

I am sure by now I have convinced you … well, maybe one of you. But if you are interested in learning more or purchasing your own edibles, get started right here! There are tons of great websites, blogs, and even cookbooks.

Directions:Melt the chocolate chips according to packaging. Drop in a handful of crickets, stirring them around. Scoop them out with a spoon, and place them on wax paper, keeping them apart from one another. Continue until all the crickets are covered. The chocolate will harden overnight, but if you prefer you can freeze them for about an hour and they will be ready to eat shortly thereafter. Once hardened, the crickets can be stored in a container for future use.

Did we mention that we’ll be serving up yummy cooked bugs at Spirits & Skeletons (our happenin’ Halloween party) on October 25? Let the people who know the delicious delicacy best make a tasty, crunchy snack for you.

Did you know that insects are eaten in more than three-quarters of the world’s countries? They are a good source of vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates and fats and have a very small environmental footprint when compared to other types of livestock.

Think that’s gross? You are probably ingesting insect parts everyday — you just don’t know it. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has something that it calls The Food Defect Action Levels, and this document specifies the acceptable amount of bug bits in your groceries. For real. For example, you can totally have “10 or more whole or equivalent insects and 35 fruit fly eggs per eight ounces of golden raisins.” Yum, extra protein!

Having an exoskeleton makes bugs crunchy on the outside but chewy in the middle, like a 100 Grand Bar. You, on the other hand, are chewy on the outside and crunchy in the middle, like a Take-5. The crunch in the exoskeleton comes from chitin, a long polymer chain that makes up the “shells” of many arthropods — including crabs, lobsters and insects. Interestingly, chitin never shows up in animals with an internal skeleton, which recognizes the chitin as a foreign substance and eliminates it. Allergy sufferers take note: If you are allergic to shellfish, you are also probably allergic to insects. Blame the chitin.

A chiton, which is not to be confused with chitin or a chiton (a type of Greek dress), is a type of marine mollusk in the class Polyplacophora. We have several preserved specimens here at the Museum, and they are awesome. This one once went on a trip to Whiskey Bridge with a group of school kids and was referred to by name as “Mr. Ugly.”

The third form of chiton (the Greek clothing style) is less likely to be crunchy and more likely to be stylish in everyday use, but appears to have more than one etymological meaning. The Greek “Khitōn” could be used to describe this simple cloth garment or a type of protective armor, which makes total sense when you think about the chitinous exoskeleton of a bug as its protective armor.

Are you totally hooked? Can’t wait to try some chitinous culinary cuisine? You can wait for more blog posts which will feature critters in your own kitchen, you can check out the books below by other famous entomophagists, or you can come visit us on October 26th for Spirits & Skeletons or Oct. 27th for Tricks, Treats & T.Rex — which will both feature a bug chef!

Procedure:
1. Make sure no one is watching. See Recipe Notes below.
2. Preheat your oven to the correct temperature as listed on your cookie dough instructions.
3. Place cookie dough on a baking sheet as you normally would.
4. Place a single crickette on top of each ball of cookie dough. Don’t be put off if some drumsticks or wings fall off.
5. Bake as recommended and let cool.
6. Serve up to your friends and family and enjoy the subtle flavors and audible crunch.

Recipe Notes: This recipe is the equivalent of ordering fancy take out and then putting it in your own dishes before the in-laws arrive. Minimal effort for maximum gross out results.

I used to make the cookie dough from scratch using a family recipe, adding in the bugs and mixing well. What I discovered is that the bugs get covered in the dough and aren’t visible. (AND when you are eating cookies with bugs in them, no one actually cares about Nana’s secret recipe.) Save yourself the time — and Nana the heartbreak — and use prepackaged dough.

The crickettes, which generally taste like what they are cooked with or in, will have a slightly nutty flavor and are therefore excellent for replacing nuts in recipes for those with nut allergies.

NOTE: If you have a shellfish allergy, you might also be allergic to insects as well!